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Because of unhappiness over delivery issues during the holiday shopping season, satisfaction with online shopping plunged in 2013 to a 12-year low after three years of incremental improvement in the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index of retail and e-commerce that was released Wednesday.

According to the University of Michigan-based ACSI, satisfaction with online retail fell by four percentage points to a level of 78 on a 100-point scale.

"A spate of last-minute holiday purchasing online, combined with inclement weather, left some buyers disgruntled by delayed shipments," said Claes Fornell, the ACSI's founder and chairman, in a news release.

"That's the likely reason for Internet retail getting its lowest customer satisfaction benchmark in more than a decade. Nevertheless, diminished foot traffic at malls, along with a surge in shopping via mobile phones and tablets, indicates that customers are increasingly embracing the advantages of online commerce," he said.

Amazon and Netflix each bucked the trend, Amazon gaining three percentage points to a level of 88 and Netflix, which had ranked last in 2012, gaining four points to 79. Newegg fell one point to 83, with eBay falling three points to 80 and Overstock off two points to 79.

Internet brokerages managed to make consumers happier in 2013, with the sector as a whole up two points to 80.

Charles Schwab gained seven points to 84, with Fidelity at 81, ETrade at 76 and TD Ameritrade at 74.

While the overall online experience slipped, e-commerce satisfaction still remained higher than for department- and discount-store shopping, whose rating remained flat at 77.

Nordstrom had the highest rating, 83, with Wal-Mart having the lowest at 71. Kohl's was at 81, with Dollar General at 80, J.C. Penney at 79, Target and Sears each at 77 and Macy's at 76.

Among specialty retailers, which averaged a score of 80, Costco ranked No. 1 at 84, with the Gap and Best Buy tied for last at 77. Barnes & Noble, Lowe's and Office Max were each at 82, with Staple's at 81, Sam's Club at 80 and Home Depot at 79.

Among supermarkets, which averaged 78, one not found in Michigan, Publix, was the clear leader, ranked at 86. Kroger was a distant second at 80, with Whole Foods at 78 and Wal-Mart at 72.

The ACSI was based on interviews with 11,531 customers, chosen at random and contacted by telephone and email.